The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 730 I was tricked

As the saying goes, "People come and go for profit." In Flying Rat's view, no living person is immune to greed, no, even the dead love money, otherwise why would the living burn paper money for the dead? So Flying Rat held the priceless golden Buddha and looked at Iron Tiger with full confidence.

Sure enough, Tie Hu nodded without hesitation and said, "It's not that I can't show leniency, but you have to tell Luo Rucai to stop playing tricks and honestly surrender. Then I, the general, will naturally let him go."

Flying Rat said happily, "I would never dare to play any tricks. All the heroes in the world are like bears in front of Lord Iron, how dare we provoke you?"

Tie Hu sneered, "You're quite the flatterer. Put the things down and go back to tell Luo Rucai to immediately leave the valley, surrender, and I will guarantee his life. If he dares to be two-faced and go back on his word, even ten heads wouldn't be enough to chop him off."

With a wave of his hand, Tie Hu sent a guard forward to take the golden Buddha from Flying Rat's hands. The rat was reluctant to let go, but the guard snatched it away with force: "Give it to me!"

Flying Rat rubbed his hands together, awkwardly forcing a smile, and said, "To be honest, the brothers in the valley are so hungry that they can't walk. Since General Tie has agreed to accept our surrender, we are now family. Could you send some food into the valley first, so that the brothers can have enough to eat and have the strength to come out and surrender?"

Tie Hu was speechless and retorted, "Does this general have the word 'idiot' carved on his forehead? Get out of here and tell Luo Rucai to surrender before dark, or don't blame this general for not giving him a chance to live."

The soldiers burst into laughter.

Flying Rat blushed and felt a surge of resentment. He hadn't expected that the man surnamed Tie would act so unpredictably, accepting such a generous gift yet showing no respect whatsoever. He was completely different from those sanctimonious civil officials who spouted nothing but benevolence and morality.

Having exhausted all other options, Flying Rat had no choice but to leave Iron Tiger's camp dejectedly and return to the valley to report back to Luo Rucai.

In a natural stone cave in the valley, the bandit leader Luo Rucai was huddled inside, with a tiger-skin blanket under him. His expression was gloomy, and his eyes were shifty and unfocused. After listening to the flying rat's report, his expression became even more gloomy.

Flying Rat cautiously asked, "General, Iron Tiger isn't falling for our tricks at all. What should we do?"

Luo Rucai sneered, "Tomorrow morning, take another group of men to carry a box of jewels to Tiehu's camp and try to get him to grant you a few more days."

Flying Rat shook his head and said, "That Iron Tiger is impervious to both soft and hard tactics. This trick is useless and just a waste of money."

Luo Rucai's eyes turned cold, and he rebuked, "You don't know anything. Just do as this general says."

The flying rat sheepishly retreated from the cave. Luo Rucai snorted coldly and stood up to stretch his arms and legs. The cave was really too low; he could only stand up by bending over. But it was dry and sheltered from the wind, so he didn't have to endure the incessant autumn rain outside.

Luo Rucai bent down and walked to the cave entrance. Looking at the misty sky outside, he sneered, "You think you can trap me to death? Not so easy. Just give me two more days, and I'm done playing with you. Tie Hu? One day, I'll turn you into a dead cat."

The rain continued to fall, and darkness gradually descended. Luo Rucai did not lead his men out of the valley to surrender, but Tie Hu did not expect them to surrender anyway. Moreover, having obtained a golden Buddha statue for free was considered a profit.

In the middle of the night, the annoying autumn rain finally stopped, but the sky was still gloomy the next day. However, as long as it didn't rain, it wouldn't affect the use of firearms, so Tiehu planned to take the opportunity to launch a general attack on the valley and finish the job in one battle!
However, at this moment, Flying Rat arrived again, this time with four bandits, carrying two chests of gleaming silver. The soldiers couldn't help but feel excited; wealth truly is tempting!

Flying Rat chuckled and said, "This is a small token of our leader's respect to you generals. It's three thousand taels of silver, and another batch will arrive tomorrow. We hope that you, General, will be lenient. Our leader is working hard to persuade the brothers who disagree with surrendering. At the earliest, tomorrow afternoon, and at the latest, the day after tomorrow morning, they will definitely come out of the valley and surrender."

Upon hearing this, all the soldiers turned their gazes to Tie Hu, who was clearly hesitant as his thoughts raced.

“General, this is a secluded valley with only one exit. They can’t pull any tricks. What’s wrong with giving them two more days? Can a cooked duck fly away?” a commander advised.

The other soldiers echoed his sentiments. Tie Hu thought it made sense. Once they entered this deep valley, there was no way to escape. They had been besieged for so many days, so what difference would a couple more days make? Moreover, if Luo Rucai really came out of the valley and surrendered, it would undoubtedly greatly reduce their casualties. Why not do it?
So Tiehu nodded and said, "Very well, I, the general, will grant you two more days. At the latest, by the morning of the day after tomorrow, if you do not come out of the valley to surrender, you will be killed without mercy!"

So, Flying Rat left Iron Tiger's camp in high spirits. The next day, as expected, he sent another three thousand taels of silver. All of it together was enough to pay the monthly salary of Iron Tiger's ten thousand troops.

However, Tiehu was always cautious and meticulous, and he did not relax his vigilance because of this. On the one hand, he ordered the guards to be strengthened to prevent Luo Rucai from breaking out of the camp at night, and on the other hand, he strengthened the patrols and guards around the valley to prevent the bandits in the valley from finding another way to escape the trap.

On the morning of the third day, Luo Rucai still hadn't led his men out of the valley to surrender, and that bastard Flying Rat hadn't come back either. Tie Hu sensed something was wrong and immediately ordered an attack, but surprisingly, they encountered no resistance at the valley entrance.

Tie Hu's heart sank even further, and he secretly thought that something was wrong. Sure enough, the Jin army easily stormed into the valley, only to find that it was empty, with only some flags and tents used to confuse the enemy.

After a careful search, a newly carved plank road was finally discovered on the cliff behind the mountain. It was so well hidden that it could not be found from the outside. It turned out that the bandits in the valley had already escaped along the plank road and destroyed it when they fled.

Click...

A pine tree as thick as a bowl was snapped in half by Tie Hu with an iron rod. Generals Sun Ting and Zhang Yi were all terrified. Damn it, even a cooked duck can escape!

Tie Hu's face turned ashen. He had been extremely careful, but he still hadn't expected Luo Rucai to outmaneuver him. This guy was indeed cunning; he had underestimated him.

However, Tie Hu was determined and quickly recovered from his frustration. He immediately sent men to rebuild the plank road and ordered agile scouts to follow and find the bandits. Even if he had to chase them to the ends of the earth, he would find and kill Luo Rucai.

…………

In the governor's mansion in Lintao Prefecture, Jia Huan frowned slightly after reading the battle report sent by Tie Hu. Although Huizhou had been pacified, it was wrong to let Luo Rucai, the bandit leader, escape. Hu Zi had done a sloppy job in this mission, and it could even be said that there were unnecessary mistakes.

After a brief deliberation, Jia Huan decided to relieve the Iron Tiger General of his title and demote him to Deputy General, while still maintaining command of the Southern Route Army, with the planned tasks remaining unchanged. Furthermore, to reward the Southern Route Army soldiers for pacifying Huizhou, 30% of the spoils would be awarded to them as a reward. According to the original agreement, soldiers could keep 20% of their battlefield spoils, while the remaining 80% was to be handed over to the command headquarters for centralized management. Now, Jia Huan was allocating another 30% as a reward, meaning the Southern Route Army had obtained 50% of the spoils in total. Therefore, everyone was overjoyed, and the morale, which had been affected by Luo Rucai's escape, quickly recovered.

This also demonstrates Jia Huan's impartiality and clear distinction between rewards and punishments. He would not show favoritism to Tie Hu just because Tie Hu was his loyal subordinate, and all the soldiers in the army were convinced of his integrity.

In the afternoon, the sun shone brightly, and the late summer heat was still relentlessly releasing its last rays. The cicadas outside the window were not to be outdone, shouting their support with all their might.

After lunch, Jia Huan rested for a quarter of an hour in the back courtyard. When he woke up, he sat behind his desk and played with the golden Buddha that Tie Hu had sent over.

To be honest, the craftsmanship of this object is not exquisite, and it is quite different from the craftsmanship of later generations. However, it is large in size, probably weighing thirty or forty kilograms, and is therefore quite valuable.

At this moment, Mandarin walked over with two rolls of blueprints. This foreign woman was particularly afraid of the heat, so she wore light, casual home clothes, and her curvaceous pear-shaped figure was faintly visible, truly testing our Governor's composure at all times.

Fortunately, Jia Huan's seventeen-year-old body did not house a seventeen-year-old soul; otherwise, every table and chair in the room could have become a fiery battlefield of youthful restlessness at any moment.

Mandarin walked over to Jia Huan, put down the blueprints in her hand, picked up the golden Buddha statue, and teased with a grin, "Governor, you openly accept bribes from your subordinates. Aren't you afraid that the military supervisor Duan Yong will report you?"

Jia Huan calmly replied, "I'm just afraid he won't file a complaint. Otherwise, I wouldn't accept it. Money is good, but you can't be obsessed with it. Otherwise, you won't be able to see many things and will lose even more."

Mandarin was completely bewildered, and frowned, saying, "What do you mean by that? You're talking in such a roundabout way. Are you trying to get Duan Yong to report you? Jia, are you out of your mind?"

Jia Huan reached out and hooked Mandarin's slender waist, pulling her close. He then slapped her on the round face and scolded, "No manners! What are you calling me? Call me 'Master'! You've gone too far!"

Mandarin let out a soft cry and nestled into Jia Huan's lap, saying sweetly, "Yes, sir, I know I was wrong!"

Jia Huan suddenly sensed a fire breaking out at the city gate, so he quickly defended himself, ruthlessly pushed the hussy away, and said with a laugh, "Don't provoke me in broad daylight. Have you finished drawing the blueprints?"

Mandarin giggled and opened the two drawings, which were covered with complex graphics and various parameters.

"Jia, you are truly a design genius. I think your plan is feasible, but it would be very difficult to make this kind of breech-loading rifle with current technology. Not to mention anything else, I'm afraid we can't even make this kind of encapsulated bullet. It's too difficult!" Mandarin frowned and shrugged pitifully.

Jia Huan smiled and encouraged her, "That's exactly why I need you, Darlene. Believe in yourself. You're a genius, and a beautiful one at that. God has given you unparalleled beauty and a brilliant mind. You'll definitely find a way. I have faith in you."

Mandarin was overjoyed by someone's sweet words and leaned down to give him a kiss, saying happily, "Okay, I'll try it, but why do we have to go to Hami, which is so far away? Can't we stay here? I want to stay by your side."

Jia Huan's eyes flashed and he said, "There are too many people and too many eyes here. Hami is the place I can completely control."

In this era, a rifled flintlock musket was already quite advanced; even Europeans were currently using muskets of this caliber, with an effective killing range exceeding one hundred meters. However, Jia Huan felt it wasn't enough, because he had already used a flintlock musket of this power in the Battle of Ningyuan, and the Hongyi cannons had also made their appearance. Huang Taiji must have already made preparations.

As the saying goes, preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure. Jia Huan had a premonition that he would inevitably have a battle with Huang Taiji in the future. In order to be sure of victory, he had to expand his advantage in weaponry. Only by having real weapons in hand could he kill any god or Buddha and remain invincible.

Although flintlock muskets were more advanced than matchlock muskets, easier to use, and had a longer range, they still had a very obvious flaw: the exposed gunpowder pool would become ineffective in rainy weather, just like the situation Tie Hu encountered in Longnan.

In addition, the muzzle-loading system is too time-consuming and prone to jamming. If a breech-loading rifle like the ones of later generations could be made, along with an integrated ammunition package, it would not only perfectly solve the problem of use in rainy weather, but also greatly improve the firing speed and range.

When the range reaches 500 meters, no, even 300 meters, it becomes an insurmountable nightmare for cavalry!

Of course, with current manufacturing technology, it is indeed too difficult to make a rifle. The gas tightness of the barrel is a major challenge. Suitable processing machinery must be developed first; otherwise, it is impossible to make it by hand.

However, our ancestors have long told us that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. No matter how high the mountain or how far the road, as long as you set off, you will eventually reach your destination. If you don't take the first step, you will never reach the other side.

In addition, the reason why Jia Huan sent Mandarin to Hami, a remote area, to manufacture guns was naturally for the purpose of secrecy. It was necessary to keep it secret not only from the enemy but also from "his own people." Only when the most powerful weapon was completely in his own hands could he secure his life.

To be honest, Jia Huan didn't trust the person on the throne. Throughout history, there have been countless examples of people discarding their tools after the birds are all gone, or cooking their dogs after the rabbits are dead. Ever since Emperor Qiansheng issued the decree to send Lin Daiyu to marry into Hami, and Baochai had to accompany him as a palace maid, the feeling of powerlessness to resist suffocated Jia Huan, but it also prompted him to make a certain decision...

At the very least, you must control your own destiny. Even if you are at odds with the whole world, you must have the ability to get out unscathed with the people you care about!
Jia Huan embraced Mandarin, gently stroking her back, and whispered in her ear for a long time. The latter's heart seemed to melt, and she felt an invisible responsibility on her shoulders. She gently bit Jia Huan's ear and said, "Jia, I understand. I'll listen to you and set off for Hami tomorrow. But how can we do it discreetly?"

Jia Huan smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, I will arrange it properly and won't arouse any suspicion."

Mandarin nodded, snuggling up to Jia Huan like a kitten, tracing circles on his chest with her fingers, and chuckled, "Jia, it's so hot, I suddenly want to take a shower, do you want to shower with me?"

Alright, if you want a horse to run fast, you have to feed it well first. Now the horse wants to eat grass, what should you do? Feed it!

The governor then waved his hand generously and said, "Arrange it!"

With their parting imminent, the two were deeply entwined, their private matters not to be discussed in detail. The next morning, Mandarin, escorted by Jia Huan's personal guards, set off for Hami.

(End of this chapter)